Hi,
I went to Kunming-Lijiang-Shangri-La in Sept 2011, same period as you. Gonna breakdown info for you.
Weather:
Cooling in KM, cold in Lijang and SL and those high altitude areas.
Attire:
Pls bring warm clothing. When you visit the Yulong Snow Mountain, yr tour agency (if using one) shld be able to provide a fleece jacket FOC on the way by bus to the mountain. Might be good to bring hiking footwear for LJ and SL areas.
Transportation:
If taking train, do book VIP windowed compartments with bed+pillows+blankets. It comes with either 4 man bunk or 2 man bunk and lockable so its safe.
Also relatively inexpensive and is gonna be the most comfortable mode of transportation thruout yr trip I believe. IIRC, its about 6 hr train journey bwtn KM & LJ.
Van-wise I had a pretty horrid time going up those mountainous regions in LJ and SL. Bumpy/sandy/windy roads. Worse if its sunny and ur trapped in a small van. Toilet breaks are rare and yucky so don't expect much sanitarily speaking.
Safety:
Be careful in SL. Its a mixed Tibetan-Chinese land and the Tibetan tribal (Zang-zu) men carry small knives on them. I didn't photograph them so maybe if you wanna take a pic, do ask for permission cos they don't look friendly.
Don't venture out at night. My tour guide, who happens to be from the tribes, warn us not to as he told of a HK woman who went out alone and went missing. Only her body parts were recovered some time later.
LJ is generally very touristy and quite safe to go out at night. But of course to be wise, pls try to go back to yr accom before 11pm. The old city (gucheng) is pretty eerie when all the tourist shops have closed for the day. Worse is when you lose yr way at night so do memorise yr route back to accom.
Scams:
When visiting SL by tour agency, I believe they will make you visit either those 1. Tibetan temples , 2. tribal home visits, 3. tribal herb shops. Let's discuss one by one.
1. In the temple, you will find monks dressed in those Tibetan robes (ala Dalai Lama) and they have tribal doctors (Zang-yi) avail for "free" consultation. After the diagnosis, the doc will recommend some herbal meds for you to buy to treat yr condition(if any). Its up to you if you wanna purchase. If you do, prepare to be shock by the price. They do accept VISA though. :bsmilie:
fyi: call me mad but I did buy $600+ worth of med for my intoxicated liver. Do take care of yr meds and don't tell anyone (eg. guesthouse owner) that you have purchased tribal meds as they are of high value there. Could be robbed of it.
2. Tribal home visit. As mentioned earlier, my tour guide comes from the tribes and makes a living by being one. He is a real friendly joker guide and we were entertained by him thru-out the journey. Until the majority of our grp didn't want to make a tribal visit. Anyway, just pay a small token to go (less than 10 sgd per pax) and the tribal ppl will entertain, dance, and hv the chance to sample their wine and some tribal snacks. Didnt turn out so bad after all.
3. Tribal herb shop. Not scam as no one will force you to buy. But I personally think its good as I see many PRC tourists buying and I heard those herbs are damn rare(hence the high value).
I shall stop at here cos I not sure if I am leading you correctly. Let me know which categories you need info on and hopefully my brain still can remb. Cheers